[PP-F3] Getting Some Fresh Air (Piera)

[Jomei 0]

The tranquil Taft home always seemed completely silent whenever Telrenya wasn't around, even though Jomei still had Adere and full access to his music room to do as he pleased. Lazy days sitting inside he preferred to spend with her, however, rather than himself. As the ginger laid on one of the cream colored couches in his living room, staring up at the ceiling, Jomei rose his hand to summon his menus. After navigating through a few selections, a second screen appeared beside the first, all of Jomei's friends in a list for him to view. With light flicking motions, Jomei scrolled through the short list of players until he came upon a familiar name, one who he had kept little contact with, being both seemed rather busy. 

Tapping on Piera's name, Jomei summoned a third, blank screen to compose a short message to the girl he saw as a sister. 
 

Quote

To: Piera
Subject: Busy?

Hey Piera,
It's been a long time since we have had the chance to meet up and talk. So much has happened this past year, and I want to hear all about what you and Lee have been up to as well. There's a cafe on Floor Eleven in the square if you'd like to meet me there.

Jomei

With a tap of his finger, Jomei sent the message off to the woman, before sliding his legs off the couch so his feet touched the floor. Rising to his feet, Jomei equipped his green coat and the rest of his usual adventuring attire, save for the plates of armor that usually occupied his chest and shoulder. Looking to the tawny owl that wore a similarly green scarf in the corner of the room, he called out to her, "Hey Adere, I'm going to go see Piera. Want to come?" Immediately recognizing the name, the owl launched from the perch and landed upon Jomei's shoulder. Jomei then made his way from his humble home to the town's square, hoping Piera got his message and would meet him soon. 

[Piera 0]

It was mid afternoon and Winstad manor was mostly still and quiet. Instead of manning her shop, she was lazing in the warm grass of the gated front yard, watching Jareth flit about, attempting to catch the odd bugs buzzing over the grass and pond. Without Lee beside her she felt somber. She usually did. They still limited their being apart as much as possible but they still technically had jobs and went out to level or gather materials separately at times. Her fingers toyed with the Toya of Minos at her neck, presented in simple gold band woven into a celtic knot that mirrored the one that her father had given her in the real world so long ago. She'd been thinking more and more about life outside of Aincrad lately and only becoming more and more depressed as she did. More and more time passed by as they were stuck here. Who knows if a year in Aincrad was a year in the real world. Was it more? Less? Did it even matter considering how far away they were from the goal of the 100th floor...

Yet these thoughts still didn't spurn her to train or level to reach the frontlines, but rather held her back from even leaving the manor most days. She'd only been keeping in contact with Jomei and even that was only through very sporadic messages with little really said in them. Any time she thought about actually getting out and being social she just felt like there were invisible heavy chains holding her down. What was the point? It's not like she was of any help, other than being an alchemist. Even if any of her few friends left (alive or simply not just gone) just wanted to hang out with her, she just felt like she wouldn't be a wet blanket. She didn't know how to be Piera anymore...

So when a message suddenly showed up that wasn't from Lee, her heart sank with guilt. Running her fingers up over her bangs, the brunette scanned over the message before focusing on the subject line. Maybe that was her out? Already she was thinking of ways to deflect. He hadn't outright tried to meet with her since Halloween. Pushing away Jareth's inquisitive head nudge at her hovering hand and giving him a quick scratch, the alchemist typed a response.

Quote

 

To: Jomei
Subject: RE: Busy?

Hey Jomei,

It's been crazy since Halloween. I've mainly been working on leveling my alchemy and getting materials. Same for Lee. Shop's been busy. Lots of orders to fill.

 

The guilt became heavier as she finished up the whopping lie of a reply, gnawing at her as she similarly gnawed at the inside of her cheek before finally hitting send and flopping back on the grass, flinging her forearm over her eyes to shield them from the light. She could feel Jareth leaning against her side, tail swishing as he eyed more bugs probably. Perhaps Jomei would let it lie. She didn't really directly respond to his offer but her lies should cover that. Maybe.

[Jomei 0]

It did not take long for Piera to reply to Jomei's message, in which she turned down his offer to meet up, busy with her usual things. Jomei frowned, having not seen the girl since Halloween.. even then, he barely had the chance to speak with her. Jomei did not bother replying back to the message, and as his hand lowered to close his menu, he let out a disappointed sigh. His head hung for a minute before his gaze turned to the platform used to warp from floor to floor. "Well, if you won't be coming out..." Jomei said to himself under his breath, as his lips curled into a mischievous smirk. Stepping up onto the stone teleporter, Jomei made his way down to the Third floor "Warp, Delilah!" In a large ball of blue light, Jomei's avatar disappeared only for a moment, before reappearing in the center of the tranquil town of Delilah. 

With Telrenya's shop being on this floor, the man was beginning to understand the layout of the town much more than he once had. However, his destination was not one that was within the city's safe zone, but out next to the lake where Winstead manor resided. Following the path that he remembered from the short time he had lived with the two, Jomei rounded the lake until he reached the grassy courtyard of the mansion. The ginger spotted a familiar owl griffin flying through the air, to which Jomei shrugged a shoulder, allowing Adere to fly off and meet the familiar in the sky. Jomei, on the other hand, walked to the brunette figure he saw laying around in the grass. 

The ginger quietly walked up to the girl, before crouching beside her frame, "Things sure do look crazy, huh." Jomei said, playfully teasing the woman with a smile. 

[Piera 0]

Piera was doing her very best to think about absolutely nothing. Just feel...exist... But the more she tried the harder her thoughts pressed in. Little inconsistencies that she had long since gotten used to cropping up all the more present than before. Like that even as her diaphragm rose and fell, she didn't need to breathe. Sure if she went underwater, after a time without coming up for air, she'd drown...but if she suddenly decided to stop breathing, it wouldn't matter in the least. But it was programmed into her brain, so she kept doing it. In and out in and out, players filing in and out.

The silence was deafening. She wished there was music or chatter, anything to stop her from thinking. Letting out a breathy and humorless chuckle she realized that the only way she'd stop thinking is to die. Yet if that was the case, why could she still so often hear the voices of the dead in her head. Would you chide me for being so pitiful Adachi? She wondered before he responded immediately in her mind, That would be more than a bit the pot calling the kettle black. She disagreed but how could she disagree with herself?

Circular thoughts spun in her head until she was suddenly snapped out of it upon feeling Jareth suddenly use her stomach as a stepping stone to launch himself into the air, probably to try and catch more bugs. "Yer leavin' me too huh Jare?" Okay maybe that was finally too much self pitying for even her. Before she could even lift up her arm from her eyes and try to think of something else, anything else, to do; Piera heard a familiar Irish brogue right next to her.

Flinging her arm off of her face, the alchemist sat up with a bolt, green eyes wide behind the frames of her glasses. Sure enough, there he was in the pixelated flesh. Then Jomei's comment finally sank in and a deep blush spread across her face as she was caught pretty much empty handed in her pitiful messaged lie. But he was smiling, so he didn't seem mad...at least there was that. Pursing her lips in consternation, she tried to save face plucking a blade of grass. "Valuable material gathering right here...heh..." Her own smile seemed rather forced and it even felt wrong as she tried to do it.

Throwing the grass away from herself, Piera linked her hands behind her neck in a rather self conscious position. "...Sorry Nick. It's been a while." Even she winced slightly at the overly used platitude before genuinely finishing, "Think I forgot how to 'people'." Meanwhile as the two old friends conversed, their familiars careened through the air not too far away, Jareth re-familiarizing himself with Adere's scent and movements before challenging the owl to a race, flying low and fast over the pond, talons barely touching the water's surface.

[Jomei 0]

Olive eyes watched as Piera's fingers wrapped themselves around a singular blade of grass, before plucking it from the ground, using it as a jest about gathering materials. "Ooooh a potion that uses grass? First time I've ever heard of that." he continued on with the teasing tone, poking fun at the red faced girl. As she finally seemed to give in from her ruse of 'being busy', the Irishman let his backside fall to the earth so he sat beside the girl. Long legs stretched out in front of him as the palms of his gloved hands pressed into the grass behind him to support his back from falling as well. "You don't have to blame yourself for it Alyssa, I've been just as busy as well." he said in a softer tone, turning his head to the girl with one of his usual, soft smiles. "I should have made an attempt to come out here and find you a long time ago." 

"Well, at least you had managed to come out to the Halloween party..." the man started, before breaking eye contact with the woman and speaking in a quieter voice through the corner of his mouth.. "..for the end of it.." With a small chuckle his eyes trailed back to Piera, "Despite. I was still happy to see you both.. and that you were alright.. But that just leaves the question, what have you two really been up to these past few months? Aside from just sitting around in your mansion." Jomei's head turned to look over his shoulder at the large estate built into the side of a mountain. It still amazed him that Piera and Lee both had earned the funds to be able to afford such a lavish house.. where Jomei never had the money for such a thing, and ended up risking his life, as well as the lives of others, just in the hopes of winning the plot of land he currently lived in.

[Piera 0]

Piera snorted lightly at Jomei's teasing before retorting, "First time you've heard of it but not first time you've drank one~ Nah, they only tasted like grass sometimes." The brunette sat up more fully as her friend made himself comfortable next to her. Holding her ankles as she drew them closer to her center in criss-cross style, her torso somewhat hunched over as she twirled the blade of grass before it dissolved into light particles. Her blush had finally started to fade at the Irishman's soft smile, but it didn't really quell much of the guilt she felt. "It's not on you Nick."

At mention of the Halloween party months back, Piera frowned, crossing her arms tightly in more of a hugging motion. "Sorry... I-It was just a lot harder than I thought. I just... I kept looking over my shoulder." A hand came up to rub the back of her neck with an anxious look. "Wondering if it was going to happen again." Letting out a rough sigh, the alchemist's fingers rubbed over her face underneath her glasses. "I-I know it's really not likely to happen again, but just being at a Halloween party just like last time... I couldn't stick it out. Lee noticed I was kind of freaking out and we just went home." She ran her fingernails up against her scalp, shaking her brunette locks out before shrugging. "Mainly small time quests and keeping up the shops. And talking. Lee and I didn't really work on....us after you guys freed us. We had been having some problems but we've worked them out." Now the woman's smile seemed more genuine as she looked at her old friend. There weren't words to describe how grateful Lee and herself were to him and their fallen comrade for rescuing them.

A gentle splashing could be heard as Jareth sat by the edge of the pond, watching the water intently with wide eyes before his paw dipped into it with lightning speed causing a fish to come flying out and flopping on the grass before the owl griffon began gobbling it down, waiting to see if Adere would be able to figure it out.

With that out, Piera seemed a little more relaxed as she laid back and turned on her side, elbow in the grass as she held her head up with her palm. "So! Enough about our boring antisocial selves. What've you been up to? I uh, see you joined a new guild?" Motioning to the guild tag she could see by his name.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei's shoulders slightly dropped when Piera began to vaguely mention what had happened to her and Lee at the last Halloween party they had attended. A frown crept its way onto the ginger's face, a wave of guilt hitting him from not being able to save them sooner. "R-right.." Jomei simply responded, "I understand then.." Memories of that night had always beed stuck in Jomei's mind.. breaking into the fortress and risking their lives to save Piera and Lee, as well as many others. Jomei would have felt like a hero, if it was not for the image of his blade driving through the chest of another that poisoned the thought. The guilt of that kill did not keep Jomei up at night any longer, for he knew it was for the best, it was needed to survive and save the others. "But.. you won't have to worry about that now.. now that you're back. Even without Adachi around, I'll still make sure to help keep you guys safe." 

"Well.. its good that you guys worked everything out then. Can't have trouble with Aincrad's power couple." Jomei said with a chuckle, his eyes shifting out to the lake where Jareth and Adere played. The man's forced smile became a bit more genuine, watching as the two familiarized themselves with each other yet again, and raced around the lake. 

The brunette's sudden exclamation brought Jomei's attention back to her, as her voice seemed to pick up a bit from the last point of conversation. He could not help but let out a small chuckle when Piera asked about the new guild he had joined, "I actually started the guild. Figured I'd give the leader role another shot." he nodded his head a couple of times, "The guild hasn't burned down to the ground yet.. so I think I'm doing a good job." A hand found its way from the grass to the back of his neck, scratching at the skin under his ginger locks sheepishly, "Aside from that.. I've just really been working on leveling up. Oh! I got my own house in Taft, I'm living there with Telrenya now." his cheeks heated a bit with a tint of pink, looking down at his boots in front of him with a smile. 

[Piera 0]

Hearing the waver in her friend's voice and just glancing and seeing his expression clued Piera into what he was thinking about. Or at least one of two things: one, possible guilt for the length of their imprisonment before he and Lowe were able to rescue them or two, (more likely) guilt over the player killer that he had killed during the rescue. Both things she had already said numerous times weren't his fault and/or he shouldn't feel guilty over. Goodness knows she knew personally how hard it was to control one's emotions though and so instead of preaching to him once more, the brunette simply reached a hand over and rested it over his knee, squeezing in what she hoped was a reassuring manner with an understanding smile accompanying it. Said smile widened a little as he reassured her that even without their trusty Fool, he could help keep them safe. "We know. I just hate to rely on you. I mean you're nearly three times my level now, any quest that I wouldn't die on would be boring as hell for you and plus I'm sure you're busy with your guild and stuff." Shrugging, the alchemist then snorted as he made a comment about them being Aincrad's 'power couple'. 

"'Power couple'?" She echoed, humor tinting her tone. "How exactly do you figure that? We're all couple and no power! You didn't miss the whole 'you're three times my level' part, right? And Lee's is lower than mine..." Piera sighed with a shake of her head, trying to push those thoughts out of her mind as her eyes focused on the frolicking familiars. Jareth was now scooping out more fish for he and his playdate to snack on.

Eyebrows rose in faint surprise as her friend stated that he was the one to start the guild that he was currently in. Eyes squinting as her cheeks rose in a smile, Piera nodded in agreement. "I always knew you'd be a good leader. Just needed to make your own way." The Velvet Room wasn't the best testing grounds for the Irishman who had been trying to simply fill in the empty shoes of the Fool. Rolling her eyes lightly at the joke about not burning it to the ground yet, Piera then chuffed lightly about his leveling, "Yeah I can see that, jeez. I bet you could bench press Lee and I, one in each hand, in full armor." She had no idea how bench pressing actually worked, but she was fairly sure Jomei was now strong enough to manage it in any case.

Piera was much more interested in the second, or rather third piece of information, green eyes alight behind her spectacles as she asked with interest, "Oh reeeaaally~?" Taking a moment to take in the adorable sight of the ginger blushing, eyes down but still unable to stop that goofy and obviously happy smile of his. "Oohhh my gosh Nick you're too cute!" The older woman went to lightly pinch and tickle his sides, grinning all the while before pulling back. "I'm so happy for you! Telrenya, hm?" She tested out the name on her tongue thoughtfully before commenting, "You sure move fast. You're not taking advantage of her, hmm?"

Putting on a breathy falsetto voice she acted out, "Ohhh Jomei thank you from saving me from miscellaneous monster number five, if only I had a place to stay~." Then just as quickly adopting her friend's Irish accent rather poorly, "Never fear m'lady, you shall be safe and sound in my mansion, come! Awwaaaaaayyyy!" Though the accent was nearly gone by the end, partly due to the fact that she was collapsing in giggles considering what a ridiculous and unrealistic portrayal of her friend she was putting on.

Attempting to collect herself as Jareth came over to check on her pathetic wheezing and watery eyes, Piera's chuckles finally began to fade as she stated genuinely, "Seriously dude, it's good to hear you have an actual house now! And not that sad little....gah I don't even think it really qualified as a cot in your shop. Taft's a really nice town too. I hope we can visit one day an meet yer lady friend."

[Jomei 0]

Feeling the brunette's reassuring squeeze on his knee was enough to bring him out of his trance. His olive eyes trailed up to look at the woman for a moment, her growing smile contagious, Jomei's own lips stretching into a bright smile. The ginger appreciated that no words were exchanged about the actual day after that, he was sure neither of them wanted to think on that day.. especially Piera. Instead, Piera focused on the latter part of Jomei's statement about always being there for them. Jomei could not help but let out a single chuckle, "Even though we've spent some time apart, you're still a sister to me Alyssa. You know I'll always be there for you and Lee.. no amount of 'guild stuff' will get in the way of that. As for the power couple thing.. I just feel like what you guys have for each other is really special. You came into this game together, and haven't really let it affect your relationship. Despite your ups and downs, you both push through it in the end. I don't think there's many people who can say they have that quality."

Jomei returned the smile that Piera shone him after sharing her belief that she knew he would make a good leader some day. "Thanks." Jomei said with a bashful laugh. "I think with the Velvet Room.. it was tough to try and fill Lowe's shoes and follow the guild that he had started. With the Holy Dragon Alliance, I was really able to shape the guild how I wanted it from the bottom up.. and we've been growing in numbers ever since." His large grin softened as he looked forward into the grass again, "After closing down Velvet Room, I felt so guilty for just letting it die. I considered being a solo player.. But I met a few people that saw more in me, and inspired me to start a guild to help people." 

The brunette's tone soon shifted to a playful, teasing voice as he mentioned his living conditions with Telrenya. The blush on his cheeks flushed an even deeper red as she began to tease him even more, pinching and poking at his ticklish sides. "A-ah haha hey hey!" Jomei shouted through laughter, trying to stop the woman's vicious attempt on his life in the form of ticklish pokes. "O-of course I'm not-" Jomei began, before being interrupted by even more teasing. Piera's one woman play of Tel and Jomei's affair and moving in together made his face even redder than the hair on his head, trying to bury his embarrassed face in his hands. However, the man could not help but break out into a laughter of his own, especially at the woman's attempt at his own Irish accent. "Y-You know.." he said through laughter, "You're.. you're not getting any better at the accent." he said, trying to poke fun back at her, but knew it was nothing in comparison to the savage jabs she took at him in good fun. 

Once her joke had ended, she expressed how truly happy she was for him. "Of course! There's plenty of room for you guys to come visit. It's no Winstead Manor, I will admit..." Jomei said, turning over his shoulder to look at the large home the two had acquired, "But its a home, and that's what matters." Jomei took in a few deep exhales, trying to regain his breath from the laughing attack each of them shared. "I really think you and Tel would get along. She really is sweet, and kind and.." Jomei stopped himself from rambling on about the girl, "A-anyway, I know you'd get along with her." 

[Piera 0]

Even though this wasn't the first time he'd said how he felt about her, Piera still felt a warmth inside of her and perhaps a sting of moisture behind her eyes at hearing it again. That she could always count on him and that distance or time didn't mean that things had changed between them. Tapping the toes of her boots together bashfully as she listened to her friend explain why Lee and herself were still considered a 'power couple'. Shrugging slightly, the brunette felt mildly embarrassed but also rather happy that others could tell this about them. "We'd already been together for five years before SAO started. Just made us stronger. But...thank you. Heh." A proud little smile made her expression glow.

Seeing the powerful man being so bashful was rather funny, not to mention cute, but she could understand where he was coming from. It really sounds like he cared about his guild and put a lot of care and effort into it. ...Though to be completely honest her expression wavered ever so slightly into something indescribable upon hearing the name of said guild but she refrained from commenting. But a frown pulled at her mouth upon hearing the guilt he'd felt when he closed their old guild. "Jomei... You didn't just 'let it die'. I mean...I wasn't there at the time but I'm also sure that didn't help. Lowe, you and I were supposed to all help with the guild equally and we weren't there for you. Either way, it wasn't your fault. Lowe went and joined another guild anyways. And you seem to be thriving having a guild of your own too."

Though she couldn't help a friendly eye-roll as he described the goal of his guild. "Dude every guild is 'to help people'. I think there's only a handful of guilds that aren't and they're either just searching for rares or PKers." She was only picking fun at him a little though, parroting a complaint that Lee always had about guilds. To be honest though it's not like it was a bad ideal for a guild to have, just perhaps a bit vague.

Shrieking in glee as the Irishman blushed deeper red than his own hair as she teased and tickled him, a happy blush of her own dusting her freckled cheeks. It was just too easy and fun. But at his critique on her accent, the Californian pouted. "I'm trying! I usually just try to do a spin on your accent or my dad's but it's been a while since I heard his and yours is weird! Your weeaboo accent is melding into it." The alchemist nodded sagely, poking fun at the fact that he'd lived in Japan in recent years before SAO.

"Hey, cozy is better than extravagant sometimes. Or most of the time heh." Piera chuckled slightly under her breath with a glance back at her home. "Lee found this place and fell in love with it. I'd be happy with a cottage. Wouldn't have to be big as long as it has all the essentials. The Manor has some pretty sweet perks though." Shrugging, the brunette then brightened with interest as Jomei stated that he thought she and his girlfriend would get along before beginning to gush slightly and then cutting himself in embarrassment. "Nonono, do go on~!" Piera encouraged him with wide grin. "How'd you guys meet, hm? Or should I save adorable stories like that for when I have you both in the same room?"

[Jomei 0]

"Yeah.. I guess you do have a point." Jomei said, slowly nodding his head after Piera worked to reason with him about feeling guilty with their prior guild. She was not wrong.. Lowenthal had up and left The Velvet Room to join the Knights of the Blood Oath, Piera and Lee were not around as much.. Carmine had vanished, Helios was gone too.. The only active members at the time were Zandra and himself. Jomei really had no other choice than to shut down the guild. The man scoffed, "Guess it was hard to get a guild going with only two active members, huh." 

"So they say." Jomei said in response to Piera, "Yes.. the other guilds out there say they offer help to players who need it.. but between you and me. I have not seen a single member of any other guild there to help anyone in need.. Except to join the front lines under a guild's flag." The man's chin dropped back towards his chest, letting out a small sigh, "Everyone who's joined this guild just has.. so much potential in this world.. not only to help those in need, but to get stronger and fight on the front lines.. Even those that joined Velvet, aside from us of course, did not have the resolve that some of these players have. And it really is inspiring.. Its what pushed me back to the front lines, and made me into the leader I am today." His eyes turned back to Piera with a smile on his face, "You know.. there's always room for you and Lee in the guild. I'd really love to have you guys.. if you'd want of course." 

"Ahh." Each of Jomei's hands rose to the back of his neck, fingers interlocking. The man then let his back fall to the grass behind him, looking up at the clouds as they slowly drifted overhead. "Well.. we met on Floor Two. It was actually just after I had moved out of your guys' mansion.. so I was looking for a new place to set up my shop. It was either back on Floor Two, or Floor Eleven.." a small chuckle interrupted his speech, "I'm just happy I chose to explore Urbus first...Anyway, I saw Telrenya pacing.. looking nervous about something. So I approached her, and she was nervous about going out to fight the Queen Wasp on her own, so of course I offered to help her. After that, I ended up running into her a second time, and I helped her out on another quest. We started opening up to each other a bit, and I let her know that I was there to help her and keep her safe... I think I started to develop feelings for her after that.. Just something about her kind, sweet nature that really drew me in." The man's blush was apparent on his cheeks as he let his eyelids close, taking in a deep breath through his nostrils before continuing, "So I decided to ask her out on a date.. but I didn't call it a date it was just... getting to know each other.. but it turned into a date.. I guess.. " the man stammered, " ..She ended up telling me how she was looking for her brother.. Later on we found that her brother was Beatbox.. But, that was a week or so after this. Anyway.. we ended up chasing after this thief into an ice cave, and an avalanche trapped us in..It was while we were there that I opened up more.. I told her everything about what I'd been through.. with you guys, with everyone else.. And.. well.. I kissed her." He laughed bashfully, "O-Obviously everything worked out after that... But I guess that's the short version." 

[Piera 0]

Nodding in approval as her friend admitted that she had a point, her mild satisfaction quickly vanished with a thoughtful frown at his statement that the vast majority of guilds stating that they were for helping other players rarely actually did so. It seems he had really thought about this. But hearing Jomei go on about his own guild and it's members was rather endearing. He seemed so impassioned. But his offer for herself and Lee to join caught her off guard, so much so that for a moment she just stared at him. "Wait, seriously?" Blinking with an awkward smile, Piera admitted, "I mean, I am beyond flattered Jomei but... I mean...well, you know our levels..." Her ears were flushed with embarrassment. After all, the woman was three times less than his level and Lee was only half hers. "I wouldn't really be of much help." Already discounting Lee from the equation as she knew his answer already without even having to ask. "Except maybe potions and crystals I guess." She admitted with a thoughtful shrug, attempting to gauge the Irishman's reaction.

Sitting attentively as the ginger described how they met and when, the alchemist had a grin that as he went on, became a little less wide. But she just listened quietly until he finished, soaking up all of the information. Her expression finally changed upon the statement that apparently his lady love was the sister of Beatbox. "I know him. Somewhat. Met him once. A friend of mine is dating him." As he wrapped up his summary, the brunette couldn't help but snigger slightly. "Oh so you just trapped her in a cave, kissed her and never let her out. The End! Happily ever after~ Haha."

The older woman had some vague concerns that this Telrenya girl didn't have as much of an emotional connection to Jomei as he did her, but tried to reserve judgement at the very least til she met her in person. She was probably being just a little overprotective of the man she practically considered her brother, not just because of their closeness but due to how many times he'd gotten his heart broken. Poor guy deserved a break and she wasn't about to ruin anything for him, just crossed her fingers. "That seems a big leap though. from kissing to moving in?" She refrained from saying more though, leaving the question open ended.

[Jomei 0]

The ginger chuckled, "Do you really think your guys levels matter? Just having you around would be nice.. Though being one of the hardest working Alchemists out there.. that'd be a huge help as well" he said, placing a hand on his chin in thought. "But of course.. decision is up to you in the end. Just know our doors are always open if you are interested.." Jomei left the guild invite at that, for he knew that Piera and Lee were living more of a secluded life lately, so if they would prefer not to join, he would completely understand. Despite, it would be nice to be able to to spend more time with the couple. 

Jomei could hear the concern in Piera's voice about how quickly it seemed the two had moved on in their relationship. It was true, that the two had only been together for a mere five months, and their relationship had moved thus far already. However, everything the two had been through really solidified the love the two had for each other. Jomei shook his head, "No no.. she did not move in right away." He took in a long breath, the smile he had from talking about how his story with Telrenya started fading. He really hated talking about this.

"Things probably would have gone a lot more slowly if things were normal.. but, heh, in SAO I guess nothing ends up normal.. A week or so after we started dating, we received a message from one of our guild mates that she was in trouble. Of course, we rushed to action to make sure she was okay. When we arrived, we were greeted by five cloaked figures. At first.. we had no idea what they wanted with us. But he knew about what happened to you guys.. Possibly even was involved in it..He had a message for me -- Stop trying to be a hero. I.. don't remember too much.. a lot of that day was a blur but after I had knocked his mask off, he revealed himself to be a player named Death Adder, who somehow had picked up the Dual Wielding skill after Zelrius had died. He made quick work of me.. dropping my health nearly down to nothing with a single attack. I... I thought I was going to die. But he was toying with me.. his real target was Telrenya. He revealed to her that he was the one to have killed Beatbox.. which really stuck with her.. " He sighed again before continuing, "She had only moved in recently.. but until then I had kept an eye on her to make sure she was not going to try anything rash like getting revenge." 

[Piera 0]

Chewing on the inside of her cheek in serious consideration to Jomei's counter arguments to them joining, Piera was quiet. If she joined a guild...she would undoubtedly feel obligated to go out more, interact with her guild members, make potions to help them out since she couldn't fight with most of them on the frontlines. It would be good encouragement. The carrot being spending time with friends and the stick being the guilt of abandoning something she had formally committed to. Friends were one thing, but joining a guild she considered a serious commitment. But there was still something else to consider, "Would...would the other members be okay with me joining though? I don't want it to seem like you're being unfair by letting someone in just because you're friends with them." The last thing she wanted was to ruin the reputation of the guild he'd created and grown himself.

Head tilting in curiosity as Jomei stated that Telrenya hadn't moved in right away, the brunette stayed quiet, hearing out his story. The more he told, the deeper Piera's frown became. And when her friend stated that this mysterious player knew what happened to herself and Lee and was possibly involved in it, she paled and became deathly still. That information wasn't even the most shocking though. Another PKer had the Dual Wielding skill. Even though Zelrius himself had the orange cursor, she still trusted him a hell of a lot more than this guy. Especially given what her friend was telling her now.

Her fists tightened around grass, knuckles trembling slightly as she realized that she could've lost one of her only friends left then. Yet when he stated that this terrifying sadist's target hadn't been him but his girlfriend, the alchemist's heart seized in concern for her friend's own heart, even though realistically she knew that he wouldn't be able to relate the retelling so calmly if anything dire had happened to her. Still the truth was pretty bad. Blinking in shock and confusion she echoed, "Beat....box..?" Her brain tried to play catch up with what Jomei was saying, her expression slightly scrunched as she tried to make sense of it.

"Wait...this Death Adder guy killed Beatbox? Oh god, Teion..." No, no she was alive! Still a mildly panicked expression came over the brunette as she quickly swiped open her menu, selecting her friends list and letting out an audible sigh of relief when she saw that Teion's name was there just like always. She was alive. Rubbing her forehead, Piera said, "I don't blame you for keeping an eye on her. God her own brother... I-I can't even... I'm so sorry Nick." It wasn't like it was his brother, but perhaps Beatbox might've been a brother in law. Either way, she knew that a loved one's pain was your pain.

[Jomei 0]

Piera was still a bit hesitant with her answer about joining the Holy Dragon Alliance, though at least she was actually taking the invitation into consideration. Jomei's eyes remained on the girl, awaiting to hear the answer she would give him.. if any at all for the time being. Though instead of an answer, Piera's rebuttal was another question -- this one more about the other members accepting her. Jomei let the small chuckle that pushed up from his chest out, "I think you forget that I started the guild.. they have to listen to what I say" the ginger said playfully, before his smile softened, "In all seriousness though, I'm sure they would accept you. You'll just have to come out and meet them. Aside from being the great friend you are, we also really could use an alchemist. And theres not many that I trust more than you." 

"Yeah.. he killed him. Huh, Teion?" Jomei tried to react as quickly as Piera did. Turning his head, he saw the panicked expression on her face as she rushed to her friends list and frantically scrolled until she came upon the name she was looking for. Only then did she seem to calm down. "Hm.. I don't know Teion.. though I've heard she was close with Beatbox." After Piera expressed her own apology for what Jomei had been through with his experience with Death Adder, Jomei forced a small smile, "Eh, its alright. We are all still alive.. And I don't think Death Adder is going to show his face again any time soon.. Basically put, not only did he have Zel's old skill.. but he somehow got his swords as well-- Those Demonic weapons. Guess the guy forgot that even powerful Uniques like that have a durability that will give out if not kept up with. During the last boss fight, Death Adder decided to show his face.. show us all that he was the 'true hero of Aincrad'.. Midway through the fight, those unique weapons shattered, leaving him to simply run from the fight." Jomei shook his head, "Takes a hell of a long time to get just one sword like that.. So I'm not too afraid of him anymore." 

[Piera 0]

At his pointed statement that he was the leader of the guild Piera rebutted by giving him an equally pointed look that said what she thought of that logic. "Nobody likes a tyrant Nick~" Poking him lightly in the side. But hearing his serious answer, her expression lightened in what seemed like hope. "I...I think I'd like that. As long as I'm not stepping on any toes..yeah." Smile brightening the older woman asked formally, "I would like to join the Holy Dragon Alliance."

Letting out a small sigh as Jomei mentioned that he'd heard Teion was close to Beatbox, the alchemist nodded. "Yeah, they were just starting to go out some months ago. I actually know Teion from real life. Sorta." The brunette shrugged before explaining, "Another game. We voice chatted all the time and would duo together. Only met her in SAO a couple months ago though."

Flinging blades of grass away one by one to give her antsy and frustrated hands something to do as the Irishman spoke, Piera continued frowning. "Tch... Jesus, does this guy have a hobby in kicking puppies and taking candy from kids too?? Next you'll tell me he has a mustache that he likes to twirl. @$$hole." Biting her lip thoughtfully she then threw in, "While it is good to hear that the b@$t@rd doesn't have those swords anymore, with that unique skill you should still most definitely be wary of him." Green eyes connected with green seriously, concern shading hers for a solid moment before she asked with a sly smile. "So what did his expression look like when they broke in the middle of that boss fight? The 'true hero of Aincrad' turns out to be a wussy that can only face a real boss with his uniques. Pah, pu$$y."

[Jomei 0]

The word tyrant stuck in Jomei's mind for a moment, reminding him of the previous boss fight against the giant, obsidian dragon known as Tesseleth The Tyrant. For a moment, the man stared out into the distance before a shiver sent a tingle down his spine, "No. Definitely not.." he finally mumbled in response. His attention was brought back to the brunette next to him as she began to speak more about joining the guild, and finally ending with accepting Jomei's invitation. The ginger's smile widened, "Great!" his voice sounded as excited as his facial expression looked. Without hesitating, a hand rose up in front of Jomei, quickly moving through his menus to access his Guild. Moments later, a screen was sent over to Piera, asking if she would like to join the Holy Dragon Alliance. "You're going to love everyone in the guild.. If you know me, you know I wouldn't pick a bunch of sticks in the mud to call a family."

Teion and Beatbox being more than friends was definitely not a piece of information he was expecting, nor was he told by Ryo when he had first brought up the name to her. It made the man's heart sink even more to know that his death affected more than just his sister, and friends.. but a lover as well. "..Christ.." Jomei said through a heavy sigh as he shook his head. Touching on a lighter topic, Piera told Jomei about how she had known Teion in real life.. or at least knew her before SAO through another game. That thought brought the smiling expression back, happy that even in this terrible world, they were able to reconnect as friends."That's nice.. I'll have to try and meet this Teion some day."

Piers still seemed concerned about Death Adder's presence in Aincrad, as anyone should be. Jomei still was deep inside, though he voiced the opposite to try and clear the villain from his mind to focus on other things, and to forget the day he was almost killed by him. "I know I know." Jomei reassured the woman, placing a hand on her shoulder with a smile. "I'll be more prepared next time, don't worry. And I won't try to take him on alone if it really came to that.. though I'm hopefully going to try and avoid him for the most part." Piera's own mouth curved into a smirk when she asked about what it was like to see him cower away. The ginger chuckled softly, before biting his lip, and his smile faded a bit. "Calm. And collected.. A bit worrying actually.." Jomei had not thought about Death Adder's reaction too much.. he was too focused on staying alive himself. He did remember how okay he was with the situation, not freaking out.. not panicking. 

[Piera 0]

Going off of Jomei's reaction, she was getting the impression that perhaps even jokingly saying 'tyrant' was a misstep on her part. But thankfully not a long lived one if it was even one in the first place. For upon her statement that she would indeed like to join his guild, the Irishman did a complete one eighty, nearly blinding Piera with his excited grin as he very loudly declared how excited he was about it. Laughing at her friend's jubilation, the alchemist's eyes then focused on the screen presented to her, glancing over before smiling more gently as she selected 'accept'.

Turning her attention back to the ginger as he gushed, Piera nodded in understanding, "I definitely know you. I look forward to meeting them all. And..." Her face became ever so slightly pinker as she admitted, "Being part of the family..." Then chuckling a little she wondered, "So are you the dad of the family? Because you're the leader? Hmm..and Telrenya is the mom...and I'm the aunt since I'm like your sister!" She laughed lightly which soon became somewhat maniacal as she pronounced with devilish glee, "Oooh I can't wait to torment all my nieces and nephews~!" The healer clapped her hands together with glee.

But they still had serious things to discuss. Smiling a little sadly as Jomei said that he'd like to meet her friend someday, Piera nodded. "I'd like that. Who knows, maybe I can try and talk her into joining too. It'd help her to have some more friends and people around I'm sure."

Hearing that Jomei was going to try his best to avoid the crazy PK, the healer nodded in contentment, at least until he described Death Adder's reaction to his unique weapons breaking mid boss fight. She actually got a shiver up her spine. Crossing her arms with a deep frown she muttered to her friend, "Sounds like the f^%#er's a freaking sociopath." Glancing sidelong at Jomei she noticed his equally serious and troubled expression and rested a hand over his upper arm, "Hey, don't freak out about it so much. You're not alone in this. You have your entire guild behind you. You and Telrenya. They...we won't let anything happen to you guys easily."

She began chewing on the inside of her cheek, letting out a somewhat frustrated growl, "I wish we were more freaking organized." Then glancing back at the ginger she clarified, "I don't mean your guild...or well, I guess I maybe do. I mean ALL of Aincrad to be honest. Other than pocket guilds and frontliners, there's no cohesive....presence for the every-man to listen to. No police, no judge or jury. No repercussions." She shrugged without amending, "Other than what Kayaba 'Sadist' Akahiko built into the game. There's no person or organization to hold anyone accountable for their actions." Piera sighed, shaking her head and tossing away what grass blades were left in her other hand.

[Jomei 0]

Jomei quickly took notice to the blush that grew on Piera's cheeks when she admitted to looking forward to joining the small family that was HDA. With a laugh, Jomei placed a hand on Piera's back. "Awee look at you blushing, its too cute." However, she was quick to turn the tide of battle on him, asking if his status in the guild made him a sort of father figure to the rest. Jomei's back straightened, his cheeks turning redder than Piera had. Immediately his mind went to Kimi calling him 'guild daddy' and Hestia going even farther on that and jokingly making it weird. On top of that, she even referred to Tel as guild mom. The very small thought of Jomei and Tel actually having the rest of the guild as their children crossed his mind for a mere moment, causing the rest of his face to redden. Though the comment about her being the guild aunt and wanting to torture the rest of the guild released the tension, forcing another small laugh from the ginger. "G-Guess you are right about that." 

"Hmm.." Jomei thought over Piera's idea to try and convince Teion to join the guild, so she had a bit of a support group to turn on during her rough time. "It doesn't sound like a bad idea.. Though I'd have to scope her out first, see if she would even want to join. I'd hate to try and convince someone that would prefer to be alone." he ended with a chuckle. Moving on to speak about Death Adder, Jomei told Piera about how he reacted when the swords of Michael and Lucifer shattered in his hands. Jomei's face must have taken on a worried look, which Piera acted on. The feeling of her soft hand on the bicep of his coat caused his chin to turn so he could look at her. His smile slowly widened when she helped him with the realization that the guild was in this together, and they would not let Jomei feel alone in all of this. "Thank you Alyssa, that means a lot to hear." his own hand rose to his arm, placing it atop Piera's for a moment before it lowered to his side again.

"You know.. about that." Jomei started in response to there being no sort of justice system or organization in Aincrad. "One of the other guild members brought that up to me.. And I've heard that there is actually a prison that was build under the Black Iron Palace on the First Floor... I was thinking that maybe we could find a way to implement that. Use teleport crystals to send criminals and PKers there for their sentence. I'm still working out the details.. but it might help to clean up this mess without stooping to the level of killing them." 

[Piera 0]

Piera's grin turned so wide that it nearly hurt her cheeks when Jomei blushed even harder than she was at her dubbing him the 'guild Dad'. "Dawww, you're thinkin' about stuuufff~" She teased with a giggle, sparing him saying aloud what said 'stuff' she thought he was thinking about. Couldn't have the poor man fainting on her lawn or bursting into flames and either seemed likely if she kept this up. Clapping him on the shoulder she patted it saying cheerily, "You're an excellent father figure I'm sure."  She was really looking forward to meeting the rest of the guild now.

Nodding in easy going agreement as the Irishman stated that he'd want to meet Teion before extending an invite tot he guild, the brunette concurred, "Definitely. She does usually prefer to be alone, but I worry that it's not very good for her. At the very least I hope you guys can meet some time even if she wouldn't join." It'd be good for her to meet other people though. In the friendly sense.

Head tilting as Jomei began his sentence in a rather intriguing way, the alchemist's eyes widened as he continued. "That would be....amazing! Revolutionary actually. I mean it doesn't completely solve the problem, but damn if it isn't a start! Maybe..." Her mouth touched her knuckles in a thoughtful motion as her eyes took on a faraway look as she muttered into her hand unknowingly, "Maybe I can research a way to engineer a crystal to do that. Set location instead of user chosen and would have to be used by someone not a party member or the user..mn..."

Shaking herself out of her brief reverie, Piera's eyebrows were still somewhat raised, indicating that she was very impressed by the notion and that she was still thinking about it in the back of her mind even as she also said, "Still would need some sort of organization to officiate it I feel, but maybe that's a bit too formal for our fairly anarchistic Aincrad. But something should prevent people from having these crystals and just teleporting whoever they want to this prison...or for however long. Along with a lot of other things I'm sure." She sighed with small tired smile before suggesting, "Maybe it's something for you to bring up during a floor boss meeting." Then frowning as she realized some of the people that took part in said floor fights corrected, "Or maybe just message and arrange a meeting with people you trust who are frontliners...yeah."